UK College Of Medicine Students Celebrate Match Day

Josh Payne opens his envelope and announces where he will begin his residency

Josh James

LEXINGTON, Ky. - It may be a normal Friday for most, but medical students across the country know today – March 16th– as Match Day.

The mood is celebratory, but there’s a tension in the air as University of Kentucky College of Medicine students wait to hear their name called.

This isn’t a stoic ceremony with white gowns and Pomp and Circumstance. On Match Day, the day when graduates learn where they will begin their residencies and careers as doctors, students might dance or strut onstage to the strains of Coldplay or the Geto Boys, some dressed formally, others casually or even in costume. Once there, they open envelopes, awards-show style, and announce the results.

Abhinav Koul is set to study internal medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, his second choice.

"It's really exciting but at the same time totally nerve-racking not knowing where you'll end up," he says.

The residencies last anywhere from three to six years and once the envelopes are opened, it’s a done deal.